Miss Evie Humphrey?
by Tinker178
Summary: Evie Humphrey moves to NYC to live with her cousins. What will happen? who will she befriend? Starts season 2 Episode 3. OC
1. Chapter 1

She stood quietly outside the heavy door. Just moving a fraction closer to it, to them, would cause her little self centred world she d been building to spin off course. Everything she'd spent the last few years doing had been to protect herself and she knew how easily they could break it.

It wasn't as though she didn't enjoy spending time with the Humphreys. They always welcomed her with open arms and plates full of waffles. She wasn't fooled. It wasn't hard to spot the faint flash of pity in their smiles. She knew exactly what they were thinking and that was what she couldn't stand. She hated people thinking they knew what she was dealing with, thinking they knew her. Nobody did.

Suddenly, the door opened revealing her to those inside. Her face turned crimson as she realised she'd been caught in her own mental turmoil. Doing her best to salvage the situation, she shrugged her delicate shoulders and smiled at her cousin. How many years had passed since they'd last spent time together? His face was no longer that of her childhood friend who she'd always led into trouble but of a handsome young man.

She couldn't help but laugh as he realised the same thing, taking in her new womanly body.

"Wow, Evie!" he stuttered, "It's been a while." She immediately knew he was still her nerdy Dan. Clumsily, he shifted his body so that she could enter the loft. No matter how many hotels she'd spent time at or how long her mum had made her stay in a tiny van, the loft remained constant.

He tried to be subtle but Evie still noticed him looking nervously at the watch on his wrist.

"Um it is okay for me to be here, right?" she said whilst throwing him a dazzling smile. Nodding rapidly, he responded,

"I'm heading out for a party. It's a thing for the start of term." Once more he looked at his watch before adding, "you can come if you like. It's on the upper east side."

A quick glance at her outfit made her almost respond no. She guessed that those rich kids wouldn t be too impressed by her high street dress although she thought it was cute, a cream strapless prom dress with a black trim. Just before the words left her mouth, she felt a tickle in the back of her throat which caused her to hesitate. The whole point of coming to stay here was to spend some time being a normal girl. Not that she was an expert but the last time she checked normal girls went to parties. Apprehensively, she replied,

Sure, I just need to fix my lip-gloss. We can catch up on our way there." However, the moment she said it aloud she began to feel anxious.

Almost immediately, she ensured her face was set in a smile. That way she still felt safe.


	2. Chapter 2

The journey was spent mainly in an awkward silence. It wasn't that she was bad at making conversation, she had practically mastered the art of small talk with her mum's friends. This wasn't the same scenario.

Suddenly, the silence was broken.

"You remember my story?" A vague statement, she had read all of his work and although some shone above the rest, she couldn't pin-point which he was referring to.

"Um which one? You send me at least one a month." She rolled her eyes to make it seem as though reading his stories was a chore. Evie didn't tell him that without the writing, she had worried they would lose touch with each other. That she would lose touch with the real world.

"The one that got published in the New Yorker. The one about the girl you have to suffer through me gushing about." She found it funny that despite bringing up the conversation, Dan was now blushing crimson red. She nodded, remembering all the times he had texted her with the latest Serena gossip. "Well," he continued, "today you get to meet her."

Images of a busty, tacky, blonde filled her head. She couldn't help but judge her, after everything she'd heard from Dan over the years she couldn't not form an opinion. She hoped that Serena would make a good first impression, for Dan's sake.

Some people may laugh but she had forgotten how beautiful the city was. The weather was humid and many of the elite were still sunning themselves at their Hamptons hideaway leaving the streets for the tourists to roam. The heat in the air cast a fuzzy glow further heightening the spectacular impression of what Evie honestly believed was one of the best places on Earth.

Abruptly, Dan turned his head to face her, his eyes penetrating hers as a warning that he was about to get serious and that she better not lie to him.

"Not to sound rude but why are you back?" She crumpled her nose and dropped her head. It was a stupid reason and she wasn't prepared to share it, especially not here in a cab.

"I really don't want to talk about it. I mean we're meant to be in a party mood. I refuse to kill it for you!" She smiled brightly, making sure to return his stare so that he knew she wasn't backing down. She missed having this sort of connection with someone; the connection only siblings can acquire from growing up together.

As the car screeched to a sudden halt, Evie jumped slightly. Curiously, she inspected the building they had arrived at and saw it was a beautiful, old library. Libraries had always fascinated her inner-nerd, she felt so content and safe curled up in a corner with a previously undiscovered book. It saddened her that this wasn't an occasion when she could do that.

Limos surrounded the street with many people of a similar age to her exiting them. A quick glance at their outfits left her feeling incredibly inadequate. She label-spotted at least 10 of the hottest trends from next season and three bags which weren't even released yet. When Dan said he was going to a party at 2 on a hot, summer afternoon she had expected more casual outfits and that she may be overdressed. Foolishly, she realised that for the rich there was never a time to dress casually. Parties were always lavish and fabulous.

Dan climbed out the door first, offering an arm to help her keep her balance. She took it, clutching tightly to him as though he was her lifeline should she find herself drowning in the turbulent seas of social gatherings. She cocked her head towards him, signalling she was ready to go inside.

The haunting echo of a string quartet drifted down the endless hallway. Eventually, they reached the roof and Dan was whisked away by a pretty brunette gushing about soccer or "football" as she was saying. Evie quickly moved nearer to the crowd, trying to look less isolated. She found it funny how mature this party seemed, much more civilised than anything her mother had ever attended. She wondered if being born into the luxurious lifestyle had caused many of the party-goers to have a heightened sense of maturity or if the sex and drugs were just well hidden.

"Why hello there," an unknown voice purred into her ear. The speaker was uncomfortably close and Evie found herself subconsciously squirming. "I don't know you. Why don't I know you?" The voice sounded persistent and so she turned to look at him. Smarmy was the word that came to mind. He oozed self-confidence and his gaze made Evie feel naked.

"I guess you'd say I'm new," she mumbled, "Nice to meet you, oh I didn't catch your name." She hoped that appearing as disinterested as possible would make him go away quickly.

"Chuck Bass, I thought even newbies knew that." She noticed him chuckle quietly to himself and for a second, Evie forgot the plan and grinned back.

"Well I'm Evie Humphrey and I just moved back to the city." she replied in a much more confident tone, offering him her hand to shake. A strange expression crossed his face upon the mention of her name and he quickly excused himself following that, leaving Evie alone once again.

It was then that she noticed her. All the time spent in Dan's novels (or as she secretly liked to call it, Serena world) made her certain that this was THE Serena. She could see the buttery colour of her hair that she had heard described through so many different metaphors and could hear the booming sound of her laughter that Dan once said was his favourite noise. It was strange to see that this girl was real when she had only ever existed to Evie as part of a story. She hesitated slightly, wondering whether to approach the girl or to continue standing alone. If Dan was dating her, she surely had to be nice.

"Serena," she stuttered nervously, "I'm Dan's cousin. I've heard so much about you." To her surprise, the girl threw her arms around Evie, enveloping her in a bear hug.

"Evie! It's nice to meet at last." It wasn't that she felt awkward hugging someone who technically was a stranger. It was more that she hated hugging people in general. She hated that they were so close to her, that it made her feel as though she'd relinquished control. Even though it was just a simple display of affection, it bothered her more than she would ever let anybody know.

She let Serena drag her into the middle of the party, towards the petite brunette. Evie thought that the word flawless must have been invented just to describe her, one look was enough to tell you this girl was regal. Even if only in her own head.

"B!" Serena shrieked, "Look who's here." The girl half turned her head towards Evie, looking very disinterested.

"Who is she? A new project? Look S, there's bigger things going on. I just said some very bad things to the duchess and if you'll excuse me, I need to go fix it." With that she walked purposefully towards a door.

Serena looked apologetically at Evie,

"I'm sorry, Blair can be a bit...self-contained sometimes. She is a really nice girl when you get to know her, honest." Evie smiled back, thinking that girls like Blair were never nice girls but the type you would rather have as a friend than an enemy.

"So Evie, shall we find Dan and leave this party? It's a little dull." She nodded back in response. Her first experience on the upper-east side had been a strange jumble of events.


End file.
